


The Good Word

by Azzandra



Series: Philipa "Pippa" Trevelyan [4]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 02:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4589187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azzandra/pseuds/Azzandra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several years after Corypheus was defeated, the Chantry decides to add a new canticle about the Herald. And the Herald gets her hands on an advance copy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Good Word

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a [kink meme prompt](http://dragonage-kink.livejournal.com/14614.html?thread=57450774#t57450774).

Pippa strolled into the war room with a mug of cider and a rolled up map under her arm, about as prepared for the day as she could get. This soon after breakfast, she wasn't expecting much in the way of disasters to manage, yet her advisors were peculiarly quiet when she walked into the room.

"Oh, come now, if it's not another darkspawn magister, it can't be that bad," Pippa chided, setting down her mug and the map.

There were furtive looks exchanged.

"Nothing is amiss, Your Worship," Josephine assured. "However," and her voice took up an uncertain pitch, "there is news you might be interested in."

"Ah, I'm glad at least it's not news I  _wouldn't_  be interested in," Pippa said.  "That would be much worse."

"Quite," Josephine replied, with an automatic smile at the joke. "It concerns the Chantry."

"Alright, what is it this time?"

"As I have said, it is nothing bad." Josephine dithered, rolling her quill between her fingers nervously.

"They're adding a new canticle to the Chant of Light," Leliana interjected.

"It's about you," Cullen added, now that the bandage had been ripped off all at once.

Pippa paused, blinked, ruminated on this new information for half a second.

"Oh, isn't that delightful!" she said. "When are we going to hear it?"

"Right now, if you're interested," Leliana said, picking up a ream of papers and raising her eyebrow. "You have veto power over the text, if you want to look over it."

"Absolutely," Pippa said.

She took the papers, turned on her heel and walked out the door.

Cullen, Josephine and Leliana remained rooted in place by surprise, staring after the closing door bemusedly.

"She's... not coming back, is she?" Josephine said after a few moments.

"I told you we should have kept that news for last," Leliana muttered.

"She might return for her cider," Cullen said.

She did not return for her cider.

 

* * *

 

What Pippa found instead was an apple, and she sat up on the battlements nibbling on it as she read through the text of the new proposed canticle.

"Sorry, Cole, not many rabbits in this story," Pippa said.

Cole knocked his heels against stones of the battlements as he sat.

"That's alright, I was there for most of it anyway," he replied.

Pippa turned.

"Do you know what this is, Cole?"

"Words, weighted, waiting to be sung, sent to all the corners of the world," he said. "It is you, but not you. The you they see when they don't look at you."

"I like the bits with similes, myself," Pippa said.

 

* * *

 

Cullen walked into his office and startled to find Pippa sitting at his desk.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, rising. "The battlements just got windy, I didn't want to lose any pages."

"It's... fine," he said. "You can stay. I was going out again anyway."

"No, no," she shook her head. "I keep startling your people when they walk in here. One of them actually squeaked. You should have a word with them, actually. Can't have squeaking in the ranks."

"I will be sure to do that," Cullen replied dryly. Then he hesitated, as if wanting to say something more.

Pippa waited, nothing but patient and genial.

"What do you think... about the, er..." He gestured towards the verses.

"Whoever wrote this certainly has a flair for the dramatic," she said.

"It was a collaborative effort, as I understand it."

"Was it?" she asked. "Strange that it wouldn't occur to even one of those people to mention I am a mage anywhere in here. It's, what, several hundred lines long?" She leafed through the papers. "You'd think there would be  _space_."

Cullen stood there awkwardly.

"I am certain they meant no ill by it," he said. "And as I understand, it isn't the final draft."

Pippa raised an eyebrow and gave the pages a sidelong look.

"Meant no ill. Of course," she said mildly. "I'm certain it's nothing to do with their embarrassment that an escaped apostate had the gall to save the world instead of obediently turning into an abomination and slaughtering innocents as we've always been taught we should."

Cullen stiffened. The accusation landed hard even though it was not aimed at him in particular. For Pippa, this was an unusually harsh pronouncement.

Seeming not to notice his discomfort, Pippa cheerily took her leave.

 

* * *

 

In the din of the tavern, Pippa leaned closer to Dorian's ear and pointed to a line.

"I like the bit about me being 'wreathed in the Maker's glory'," she said. "Makes it sound like I was wearing a fancy hat at Halamshiral instead of an itchy uniform. Mustn't have the faithful think of the Herald as fashion-challenged."

"Speak for yourself," Dorian replied. "Anything  _I_  wear becomes fashionable by association."

"You were the only one who ever could pull off those old uniform," Pippa said, grinning. "So what's the word in Tevinter? Are they writing any canticle about our little hoopla from five years ago?"

Dorian snorted.

"If they are, it's probably going to be about what a poor, misunderstood sod Corypheus was," he said.

"That sounds like a laugh! You'll have to send me a copy if they actually write it."

"Don't even joke," Dorian grumbled. "With how the slave rebellions are going, a lot of the more recalcitrant elements in Tevinter are starting to think that Corypheus maybe had one or two good ideas."

"Really? Introduce me to them sometime. I'm sure I'll make a wonderful impression."

"Believe me, it's tempting."

 

* * *

 

"Are they really going to name it the Canticle of Philipa?"

"Did you come all the way up here to ask that?" Leliana retorted, signaling Pippa to scoot off her desk because she'd perched on top of a stack of reports.

"I did, actually," Pippa said.

"It  _is_  your name."

"Only under protest."

"Shall I make other arrangements, then?" Leliana asked.

Pippa squinted, trying to determine if Leliana was suggesting she send out agents to solve this particular problem. The long pause extended as Pippa considered if sending assassins was worth it just so she wouldn't go down in history as 'Philipa'.

"I'll go have a chat with Josie," Pippa said slowly, hopping off Leliana's desk and heading for the stairs.

 

* * *

 

The next day, delivered to Josephine's desk was the selfsame stack of papers Pippa had departed with and discussed with seemingly the entirety of Skyhold. The ambassador was very nearly relieved at the entire thing being over so soon, until she picked it up and noticed the annotations on the margins.

She read the first few ones, before dropping the stack on her desk and deciding to clear her schedule. She'd been utterly wrong; it was, in fact, only beginning.


End file.
